It really was eating it. As Wu Youren pulled the jade biguijue back, he actually felt a faint tug against his hand.
"Don't you fucking break it!" Wu Youren muttered under his breath, turning it over to inspect it closely.
If any actual damage had been done, the little guy dying ten thousand deaths would not have been enough to quell his fury.
Still, a newly hatched chick had a soft beak; it shouldn't have been capable of damaging the jade biguijue. Otherwise, why would he have gone out of his way to test it?
Yet for some reason, as he looked it over, he couldn't shake the feeling... had the jade piece lost a bit of its lustrous sheen?
Examining it more intently, had the spot the chick's beak touched grown slightly dull?
Could it just be from the moisture? Gritting his teeth, Wu Youren stowed the jade biguijue with an aching heart.
Glancing at Aviator, who sat on the floor with its beak wide open, he sorely wanted to give it a kick.
Then again, picking on the weak was nothing to be proud of—especially an orphan... an orphan bird!
He tried again with the ironwood biguijue, and the chick seemed to show a bit of interest in that, too.
At the very least, it pecked at it twice, unlike yesterday when it hadn't paid any attention at all.
Inspecting the ironwood biguijue, he truly couldn't detect any change.
Wu Youren tried coaxing it with insects and the like once more, but the little guy still refused to eat.
"Starve to death, then, see if I care." Too lazy to bother any further, he let out a languid yawn.
Just then, voices drifted in from outside the door. "Are you out of your fucking mind? If this room won't open, go knock on another!"
"There are no empty rooms left," a raspy voice replied. "Someone's inside this one. Should I just kick the door down?"
Wu Youren frowned, slipped into his coat, and scooped Aviator up onto his shoulder.
The two outside were about to turn and leave when the door opened, revealing a youth before them.
"An apprentice knight..." A short, stocky fellow with a scowl spoke up—the owner of the raspy voice.
His clothes were spattered with blood, and his temper was foul. "Are you fucking deaf?"
"Hold on," the middle-aged man beside him interjected, raising a hand to pat his shoulder.
The middle-aged man glanced into the room, then eyed Aviator perched on the youth's shoulder. "Living alone?"
"The senior instructor arranged it," Wu Youren answered expressionlessly.
The middle-aged man pondered for a moment before testing the waters. "An ability master?"
Living in a private room in a military camp, with a small bird perched on his shoulder... and above all, possessing cultivation below that of even a knight!
Could such a person possibly be ordinary?
Wu Youren looked him up and down, then asked in a low voice, "In what capacity are you questioning me?"
"A subordinate of Count Jing'an," the middle-aged man answered solemnly. "Is that qualified enough?"
There was a vast disparity among counts, and anyone named Jing'an was bound to carry considerable weight.
"I'm not an ability master," the youth replied calmly, shaking his head.
*Of course I know you're not!* The middle-aged man pursed his lips in exasperation. "An apprentice?"
*Give an inch and they want a mile, don't they?* Wu Youren shook his head and said evenly, "Please direct your questions to my instructor."
"Enough," the stocky man snapped impatiently. "Move aside. We need to settle the wounded."
Beside them, two martial artists from Count Shengming's estate watched in silence, saying nothing.
They knew this youth was someone their estate wished to recruit, yet seeing them hold their tongues made it clear they harbored some wariness of the other party.
"All right," a voice called from a distance. It was Rossi. "Give it to them. We're leaving!"
Wu Youren turned back into the room to gather his belongings, hoisted his pack onto his shoulders, and walked out.
As he stepped through the doorway, the other party happened to be carrying two wounded men inside. The two sides brushed past each other without a word.
Wu Youren arrived at Red Pine's quarters and found the others packing their gear as well.
Namuzha finished the fastest. Slinging his backpack over his shoulders, he glanced at the youth. "Check if you've left anything behind. We're heading back to Red Pine."
Wu Youren gave a slight shake of his head, maintaining his persona of few words.
He strongly suspected the man thought he had pocketed something on the side.
Yet he truly had a clear conscience. He had entered the Guizu domain only twice, and the entire process had been completely transparent.
More likely, Namuzha had something on his own mind to offer such a reminder, didn't he?
In truth, Wu Youren was somewhat curious: was the expedition to the Mount Xuanling Guizu domain really ending just like that?
Seeing Manna put on her backpack as well, he leaned in and murmured, "We're just leaving like this?"
Namuzha watched the scene expressionlessly: *You have a question and don't ask me?*
*Does this foreign youth enjoy hovering around women that much?*
He had no idea that ever since Manna had scolded him yesterday, Wu Youren had decided she was someone worth dealing with.
At the very least, she was genuine, and she didn't harbor much prejudice against him as a native of Jin. Otherwise, why would she have wasted her breath scolding him?
Manna glanced at the youth and gave a slight nod. "Don't ask so many questions. It just so happens the camp is short on rooms."
*Just so happens?* Wu Youren keenly caught the phrasing and asked no further.
Three or four minutes later, everyone had their gear gathered and made their way out of the encampment.
When someone asked what was happening, the discipline inspector explained that it was too noisy, the camp lacked sufficient quarters, and Red Pine was vacating two rooms for everyone else.
Yet upon reaching the gate, soldiers intercepted them once again, insisting on inspecting their belongings.
This inspection was even more thorough than before, though Senior Instructor Hong said nothing, merely looking on with a cold gaze.
Because the process took a while, it drew the attention of others around them.
Even the rather lean Xia'erzi appeared, walking over to glance at Instructor Hong. "Leaving?"
He had been resting the whole time and had missed the great upheaval in the Guizu domain, which could be considered a stroke of luck.
"Yeah," Hong Da gave a slight nod.
With just two words exchanged between them, the conversation was complete. To an outsider, who could have guessed that these two were close friends?
"In such a rush?" Jeff appeared as well, a playful glint in his expression. "Has something come up?"
Instructor Hong glanced at him without responding: *Does your New Army have any say over Red Pine?*
The New Army commander paid it no mind, remarking on his own, "Once Mount Xuanling stabilizes, it will reopen. Aren't you going to record the new changes?"
Hong Yan finally spoke, though her words were sparse and concise. "We have our own arrangements."
"Heh," Jeff scoffed softly. Seeing more people looking their way, he turned and walked off.
During this military inspection, even Aviator was scrutinized thoroughly, but in the end, they passed through without issue.
The eleven of them boarded three vehicles. The lead car carried Hong Da and three female knights, while Wu Youren rode in the second vehicle.
Less than half an hour after the three vehicles departed, seven or eight vehicles drove over from the direction of the Guizu domain, and over twenty people jumped out.
Some wore military uniforms, while others were in plain clothes. A grand knight barked out directly, "Lock down the camp! No one is allowed to leave!"
The Red Pine convoy had no idea that such an event was unfolding behind them.
After driving for quite a while, Rossi finally spoke up. "Is this... because of the Hall of Esoteric Masters?"
Wu Youren said nothing, but Namuzha answered, "Stop guessing blindly and focus on driving."
After four or five hours on the road, they reached a fork. Hong Da's lead vehicle swung directly onto another route.
"Damn," Rossi couldn't help muttering again. "Are we going into Tianjing?"
Namuzha grunted. "Yeah. It's too late to head back to Red Pine now; the road isn't safe at night."
Half an hour later, dilapidated factories began appearing along the roadside, sparse and scattered.
Smoke drifted from the chimneys of a few, showing they were still in operation, but from the outside, they looked genuinely bleak.
Wu Youren felt a touch of wonder: *Rust Belts everywhere. How long has Liang's post-industrial decline been dragging on?*
Two hours later, near dusk, the industrial belt had been left behind, replaced by scattered homesteads.
Signs of human habitation grew denser, and by the time dusk settled into twilight, streetlights were already glowing along the road.
After another hour of driving, the three vehicles arrived before a small courtyard and pulled inside.
The courtyard contained a two-and-a-half-story building flanked by two rows of single-story wings.
Wu Youren already knew this was Red Pine's urban waypoint, established for the convenience of instructors conducting business in the capital.
The person in charge had already received word and announced that seven rooms on the second floor had been cleared, guaranteeing two people per room.
This time, Wu Youren did not ask for a private room, taking the initiative to offer sharing with Rossi.
While they were settling in, a piece of news spread: the Mount Xuanling camp wanted them to return!
As for the specific reason, it quickly got around: the Hall of Esoteric Masters was indeed searching for an exotic treasure.
In all likelihood, the treasure was a bead of some kind, though no one was entirely sure.
The Hall of Esoteric Masters had put down the upheaval in the Guizu domain, and based on analysis of the traces at the scene, a Guizu relic should have dropped.
Yet strangely enough, it could not be found anywhere.
Admittedly, the Mount Xuanling Guizu domain spanned a vast area; so long as a Guizu relic was not especially large, missing it was hardly unusual.
However, the Hall of Esoteric Masters possessed ability masters skilled in perception who could pinpoint the general area where a relic lay.
Earlier, the energetic disturbances had been too intense, making perception difficult. But once things settled slightly, the ability masters had made their move.
Yet all signs indicated that the treasure was gone—perhaps dissipated within the Guizu domain, or perhaps carried away by someone.
Everyone finally understood why the soldiers at the Guizu domain's exit had conducted such rigorous checks.
Even the second inspection the Red Pine squad had undergone upon leaving the camp had been for the exact same reason.
And now, because Red Pine's squad had left early, the authorities actually wanted them to go back!
The notice had pursued them all the way to their waypoint in Tianjing.
"Out of their minds!" were Instructor Hong's exact words. "Picked up an exotic treasure... How come I didn't know about it?"
The squad that had entered the Guizu domain a second time had never split up; even when charging out, they had moved as a unified formation!
To prevent baseless rumors from spreading, she specifically had Manna explain the situation to everyone.
Her rush to lead the squad away had indeed been to avoid crossing paths with the people from the Hall of Esoteric Masters.
Those people possessed an overbearing presence, and she disliked them.
Earlier, near Red Pine, she had claimed a Guizu relic, only for an ability master to forcibly buy it from her—an incident Wu Youren had witnessed in person.
That person had not even belonged directly to the Hall of Esoteric Masters, but served under the Office of Supervision!
The selling price had not been an unfair loss, but the issue was that she had intended to keep it and trade it with the Martial Academy!
Her refusal to answer the Hall of Esoteric Masters' summons this time would inevitably carry some consequences.
She did not consider it a major issue; coming up with an excuse would brush it off, as they could hardly do anything to her.
Still, leaving early spared them unnecessary bickering and kept the other side from catching sight of their haul.
Whenever that crowd saw something good, they genuinely had a habit of forcing a sale.
As for choosing not to return to the Martial Academy and heading to Red Pine's waypoint in Tianjing instead, the idea had been to keep a low profile and steer clear of entanglement.
To think the other side would pull a stunt like this—she was genuinely disgusted.
Chapter 150